Definition of "nonliterate" [nonliterate]

• Having no written language; preliterate. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "People from poor, oppressed, traditionally nonliterate Asian communities perform similarly to people from poor, oppressed, traditionally nonliterate African communities."
• "Her previous work in nonliterate communities had shown her that children who go to school regularly seem to acquire, without even realizing it, specific techniques that might help them do well on the kinds of memory tasks used in IQ tests."
• "The successfully Americanized mother stereotype posed as sure a threat to her children as did the nonliterate immigrant."